Converting Active Voice to Passive Voice: ‘They are making cakes’

The conversion between active and passive voice is a fundamental concept in English grammar that affects readability and the emphasis of a sentence. In the context of converting 'They are making cakes' to passive voice, it's crucial to understand the structure and usage of both forms.

Active Voice: 'They are baking cakes'

In an active sentence, the subject performs the action:

They are baking cakes.

Here, 'they' is the subject, 'are baking' is the verb in present continuous form, and 'cakes' is the object.

Passive Voice: 'Cakes are being baked by them'

To convert this sentence to the passive voice, follow the rule:

Subject form of the object in active voice is taken as the subject of the passive sentence

1. Identify the object in the active sentence: 'cakes'2. Invert the structure: Cakes is being baked by them

The agent 'them' is kept in the passive sentence because it provides important context.

Rules for Changing Active to Passive Voice

1. Subject (active) Object (passive) - The object in the active sentence becomes the subject in the passive sentence.2. Verb (active) 'be past participle' - The main verb in the active sentence changes to 'be past participle' based on the verb tense.3. Passive 'by'-phrase (optional) - 'by' subject (active) is included if the agent is important for understanding the sentence.

Examples with Different Tenses

Present Continuous Active: 'They are baking cakes'

Passive: Cakes are being baked by them

Past Continuous Active: 'They were baking cakes'

Passive: Cakes were being baked by them

Present Perfect Active: 'They have been baking cakes'

Passive: Cakes have been being baked by them (less common, as future perfect (They will have been baking) and perfect continuous (They have been baking) are not typically converted to passive voice)

Irregular Verb in Passive Voice

For verbs like 'bake', the past participle is 'baked'. Therefore, 'they are baking cakes' becomes:

Cakes are being baked by them

Situations Where the Agent is Irrelevant

If the agent is left vague or not important, the 'by'-phrase can be omitted:

Active: The police arrested the criminal.
Passive: The criminal was arrested.

When the Agent is Necessary

However, the 'by'-phrase is necessary when the agent needs to be specified for the sentence to make sense:

Active: They arrested a criminal.
Passive: A criminal was arrested by them.

Special Cases: Future Continuous and Perfect Continuous

According to English grammar rules, future continuous and perfect continuous tenses are not typically changed to passive voice. Therefore:

Active: They are going to be baking cakes.
Passive: (Not typically used, but can be expressed as) Cakes are going to be being baked by them.

Active: They have been baking cakes.
Passive: (Not typically used, but can be expressed as) Cakes have been being baked by them.

Common Sentence Conversions

Here are some additional examples to illustrate the concept further:

Active: They are making a cake.
Passive: A cake is being made by them.

Active: They have made a cake.
Passive: A cake has been made by them.

Evaluation of Different Phrasings

When converting the sentence 'They have been baking a cake', consider the following:

Passive: A cake has been being baked by them.

This phrasing sounds awkward and unnecessarily complex. In practice, it's usually better to stick with the active voice for clarity. However, the agent must be specified if it's relevant:

Passive: A cake has been baked by them.
Passive: Cakes have been being baked by them. (when context makes it clear who is baking)

Conclusion

Understanding the transformation from active to passive voice is essential for effective communication. By following the rules and understanding the context and importance of the agent, you can convert sentences to passive voice accurately and straightforwardly.